JULY 2022 | VOL. 1
LYSANDER A PUBLICATION FOR THE NEXT GENERATION OF CREATIVE & ENTREPENUERS
TAKING UP SPACE
A journey of self discovery and lessons we learn along the way.
TABLE OF CONTENTS EDITORS NOTE
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APHRODITE'S POETRY
04
TAKING UP SPACE MUSICIANS SPOT LIGHT
THIS ISSUE'S BUSINESS SHOW CASE
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Visit
LYSANDERMAGAZINE.COM
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Editor’s Note Dear Lysander readers, Thank you so much for being a part of our debut issue! Our July edition explores the ideas of “Taking Up Space” a musing about coming of age during the 21st century and finding your voice amid all the noise. This issue will feature eloquent poets and talented musicians.We will also highlight some up incoming brands who are working to make the world a better place.
Lillian Fisher Editor-in-Chief
LYSANDER MAGAZINE
DECEMBER 2022 | ISSUE 10
I started Lysander as an outlet for myself, that has quickly grown into something so much bigger than me. The idea of Lysander was crafted early this year when I had no idea what was in store for me or the publication. It has been a blessing to spend my time curating and collaborating with amazing humans to pull off this wonderful adventure. Well dear reader, it is official you are a part of Lysander. Whether a loyal reader, or a part of the issue thank you for being interested in what I and other creatives have to offer. We will see you again in October for our second issue. I cannot wait to share with you all the exciting things to come!
APHRODITE’S POETRY
THE PRIM ROSE POET stage//
I find inspiration in everything. I am endlessly fascinated by the complexity of humanity and nature and creation as a whole. I write to tell both my own stories and the stories of others. Poetry, like all art forms, is a method of exploration of our world - and any more worlds that we can dream up.
you may not tell me what i am to sing when i stand on this stage you may not shape me so i fit the garment of your desires you may not scare me into the corner of your comfort you may not drown me in the river of your vanity you may not tell me where i am to stand when i am on this stage t.p.p.
waiting/ wake up, dear the world outside is watching they are waiting and so are you why, dear, do you stay in your room playing catch with your doubts bathing in your insecurities dry off, dear the world outside will not wait for you forever why, dear, do you carry the corpse of your mother’s grief you have your own heart for breaking step out, dear leave this all behind do not stay in this room the world outside is waiting and so are you t.p.p.
DECEMBER 2022 | ISSUE 10
THE PRIM ROSE POET
hiding// i’ll just stay quiet it’s not that i want to but my voice is hoarse from saying the wrong thing i’m crying in a hospital lobby pretending that i’m not there is no one beside me in whose shadow i may hide please, notice me please, do not i don’t know where to go who to raise my voice to i’m lost and i’m confused oh, my name is called i hunch my shoulders when i rise t.p.p.
INSTAGRAM: @theprimrosepoet
APHRODITE’S POETRY
WILLIAM CUMMINGS
William Cummings writes poetry. He is 18. The poems included are kind of dark tonally, but he hopes that won’t always be the case. He lives in Branson, MO, but he won’t for much longer, because of college. He reads a lot of poetry, but he doesn’t want to tell you which poets, because that would expose how derivative his work is of them. He would like you to know how fun it is to write in the third person.
WILLIAM CUMMINGS
The lottery (not that one) What gives me the right To have my place In the cosmic lottery. Well when you get down to it, it’s not much of a lottery now is it? My position stems from my race, my gender, my orientation. In that way, my position was effortlessly and maliciously planned by man. Pardon my sounding like the intro to a fantasy movie. Mankind corrupting a magical object as explained by a cavernous female voice and all that. But anyway, why was I lucky enough to be born with the winning numbers? When we get down to our base humanity, everyone that has ever existed deserves my position just as much as I do. Of course when you factor in who they actually are, most of them deserve it a lot more. But let’s strip that away to a naked mankind.
Free of the traits we acquire in life. Every human being equally deserves the human rights that I possess. But Neptune, or Saturn, or whatever mystical planet or star that spins the ethereal cage, picked my number on a cheap ping pong ball made of stardust, in the dimly lit community center dining hall, With the white plastic tables spotted with craters, And the droning of the planets following their course. The same sound and the same light you discover when you’re born. Well, assuming you were lucky enough to be born in a hospital. Like me. So here I am. The lucky one. Filling the space of billions. At least it’s got air conditioning.
INSTAGRAM ;
@willcummings_79
WILLIAM CUMMINGS
Catastrophizing My world is ending There is nothing I can do Except exist In awe Of the destruction Drowning in sweat Under the blanket It’s a hot wet rag Grabbing onto your face You can only take in the pain Chest sinking in on itself Imploding It’s trying to escape to every other place Inside your body The only things you feel The only things that exist
The light can’t break through your eyelids Or the holes in the fabric One ear is melting into the bed The other is fetally grasped Hand securing it Blocking any sound From entering the chamber And time With all it’s ineffective metaphors You exist before time Light doesn’t exist Sound doesn’t exist You don’t exist Pain exists though He’s your only companion And he’s reliable.
INSTAGRAM ; @willcummings_79
LILLIAN FISHER
MODEL: NATALIE FISHER
TAKING UP SPACE Like so many other people my age, the pandemic hit when I was supposed to be having the time of my life. High school was supposed to be a movie, the best four years. But instead, I came of age in my childhood home, and completed high school in the same room I had lived in for the past 18 years. I am sure you know the story since so many have a similar one. Because of this I now find myself an adult not really knowing who I am or how to act in social settings. I lack confidence when it comes to trusting my own emotions and making my voice heard. In order to curb the feeling of isolation I, like so many others, turned to the internet and found a treasure trove full of everything in your wildest dreams. But I found it to be a band aid for what I was truly lacking, in person interactions with other humans. In today’s world there are so many outlets to get the most up to d news and be informed on all the latest trends. Every bit of the internet can feel like it is fighting for every inch of your attention.
BY LILLIAN FISHER
Eventually I got fed up with feeling like I was my own little island trying to weather this storm of life all on my own. So, I started a journey of selfdiscovery and slowly started to tune out all the noise. During this time, I discovered I really did like myself and that my passions were worth something. “Taking up space” is a phrase I used to encourage myself to push myself out of my comfort zone. Along the way I found out what I loved to do and the type of people I wanted to surround myself with. All those feelings would eventually become the very publication you are now reading. I chose to have the theme of Lysander’s debut issue as “taking up space” to set a tone for this magazine. We want to encourage and empower people to share their stories and work to make the world a better place. Because we such have such a short amount of time to learn to “take up space.”
MODEL: NATALIE FISHER
LILLIAN FISHER
ELIYA COLLIER WRITTEN BY:ELIYA COLLIER
What kind of music do you make? “Everything. Pop songs, sad songs, love songs, rock and roll, Scottish songs, I’ve got a pretty good variety going on.” Where do you live? “Branson Missouri!” How does where you live play into your creative process? “I am constantly surrounded by music, and people of all ethnic backgrounds reaching for music.” Why do you make music? “It is an inner to outer expression of my soul. It’s like this, have you ever had an itch? And then it’s so satisfying to actually itch it? When I get a song idea, I have this itch to complete it and turn it into a whole complete project. So, the way I satisfy that itch is to write music.” What creatively inspires you? “Anything and everything. Most of the time its visual inspiration. I was playing a gig just last month where, right before we started the show, I saw a pair of dragonfly earrings and turned to my dad, who was playing a really cool riff on the guitar and just spit out the first few lines that came to my mind! People are a great inspiration! Emotions are another huge inspiration! I’ve written about heartbreak, because I’ve felt that emotion before, I’ve written about love because I’ve felt that emotion before. I’ve even written about stuff I haven’t experienced yet, because I can only imagine what It would be like to feel that emotion or to live through that event.” Now for some fun questions! If you could only visit one other country, what would that country be? “Italy. It started with a book that my mom used to read to me as a little girl, and it grew a love for Italy within me and I have yet to see it.” What is your favorite condiment? “The first thing that comes to mind is ketchup, because it goes well with so many things. I mean it goes good with fries, a burger, fried fish fillets or chicken, you can’t really go wrong with ketchup!” What is your favorite brass instrument? “Trumpet! Because I played trumpet! I have to be loyal to my clan!”
INSTAGRAM: @a_clove_of_confetti
COLLIN ROLF WRITTEN BY:ELIYA COLLIER
“What Kind of music do you make? “As of right now, I’m writing country, but in the past, I have written everything.” Where do you live? “Nashville Tennessee!” How does where you live play into your creative process? “There’s a lot of songwriters here that are open to collaborate, like writing together, and so I feel very comfortable being vulnerable because they are like minded people, because they are willing to explore that.” Why do you make music? “That is the thing that makes me most happiest in the world, and I know that is what I was put on this earth to do.” What creatively inspires you? “Being around other like minded people who are also creative.” So now that I have asked you all the serious questions, I feel like I need to ask you a couple fun ones! “Ok, let’s do it!” Favorite dessert? “Ice cream. I love moose tracks! Ooooh or a good cheesecake” Favorite Peaceful place? “My truck! I know it sounds cliché to say a truck because I write country music, but it’s true! I can sing, I can find peace and quiet, it’s just my favorite place to be.” What is the most heartbreaking song you have ever written that you have never shared live on a stage before? “This ain’t goodbye. Along the lines of, you know, you’re not gonna see someone for a long time. You have a really cool connection with somebody and you have to say goodbye to somebody, but you know that in one way or another you’ll see someone again or be a part of their life again. You may say goodbye to someone but you’re not really saying goodbye, you're saying goodbye to a piece of time.” What is your dream car? “Ooooh good question! Would have to be a 70’s Corvette Stingray!”
INSTAGRAM: @collinrolf
KADENCE WILLIAMSON WRITTEN BY:ELIYA COLLIER
“I am a bassist with the band Williamson Branch, who consists of my lovely family. I am a songwriter” What kind of music do you make? “I dip into several genres, but what I consistently write in the most will be something a little more in the pop, to pop country vibe. What I write has a pop melody with the storytelling of country music, and a contemporary melody to it. I’ve done many different things.” Where do you live? “Nashville Tennessee, I was born and raised there.” How does where you live play into your creative process? “The people I’m around are also very musical and so it’s very encouraging particularly in writing, to run things by them. It’s very inspiring to listen to them, and what they have to say.” Why do you make music? “It brings me a lot of joy. I enjoy the creativity of it. The ability to take absolutely nothing, and turn it into something that tells a story and that makes other people feel what you are feeling, and explains something differently is just incredibly beautiful and can be incredibly powerful. I adore getting to adore my God and be so grateful for the gifts he has given me and to be able to express to him in another language almost that I wouldn’t have otherwise.” What creatively inspires you? “It depends. Sometimes it’s something as tangible as actual lace curtains, other times it’s something as momentous as my friend leaving for college and my sister getting engaged!” Now for some fun questions! What is your favorite animal? “Flamingo!” What is your favorite dessert? “It’s probably a tossup between really well done smores, or my moms chocolate chips cookies, which are divine.” Favorite after show snack? “Strawberry pop tarts.” Favorite form of potato “Potato chips.”
VISIBLY REFINED
My name is Ray and I own Visibly Refined! It is a business I started during our global pandemic, much like other small businesses. Visibly Refined gives a variety of services, like Loc services, Braiding, Hand crocheted items, Hair dyeing, etc. I want to show that here at Visibly Refined we have an open minded and accepting environment. We are LGBTQ+ friendly and BIPOC friendly as well! We make a point to be accepting and respectful of all our customers! We are still in the beginning points of our business being from home, still we make sure to treat our home like our professional office because we owe our customers the best experience! You can find us @visibly.refined on Instagram! We can’t wait to meet you!!
VISIBLY REFINED
@quinlyntoshphotography
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